German Leader Says No Simple, Quick Fix for Euro Crisis

 　　German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel says there are no easy or fast solutions to Europe's economic crisis, but the agreement by eurozone countries last week for more fiscal² discipline was a good step.

　　Merkel's comments at the German parliament came as financial markets indicated continued unease over the Europe debt crisis, driving the value of the continent's common currency, the euro, to its lowest level in nearly a year. Major stock market indexes also were down on Wednesday.

　　The German leader said while the path to full "fiscal union" in the EU would be a long process that may take years, she felt the process started at last week's EU summit in Brussels was "irrevocable."

　　Merkel said she believed that "the opportunities of this crisis are much larger than its risks."

　　Two international rating agencies, Moody's and Fitch, said Monday they were still watching the creditworthiness of European countries because of the belief that the summit did not result in significant action to solve Europe's short and long-term debt and economic problems.

　　On Friday, all 17 countries that use the euro and many non-euro EU members agreed to a plan that includes more central oversight³ of countries' budgets, in an effort to prevent them from running up the debts that caused the economic crisis in Europe and caused concern for the global economy. Britain opposed the plan and said it would not join.

　　EU leaders hoped the plan would calm months of volatility⁴ in financial markets by offering a long-term solution to the eurozone government debt crisis. Greece, Portugal and Ireland already have received international bailouts because of their overwhelming sovereign debt, and some analysts⁵ feared even greater needs from heavily indebted Spain and Italy.

　　Any new treaty will have to obtain final ratification⁶ from member countries. EU officials said they expect it to be signed by March.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

3 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

4 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。